Laurent Miquel Vendanges Nocturnes Viognier 2013, Pays d’Oc

I like the lushness of Viognier but often find cheaper ones a bit muted, however this one from Languedoc producer Laurent Miquel which is on offer currently at £6.70 in Waitrose and online* is the real deal.

Although unoaked and relatively low (for Viognier) in alcohol at 13% it’s really rich with the seductive peach and apricot fruit that makes Viognier so alluring. I’d drink it with roast chicken, dishes with creamy sauces or even a mild curry like a korma. (See other Viognier pairings here)

Other wines you might want to pick up in the Waitrose ‘European showcase’ promotion which lasts until May 20th are:

Les Nivières Saumur at £6.69 - a crunchy light Loire red to serve chilled. Great with seared tuna

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde at £6.63 - light (11.5%) crisp white from Portugal. Refreshing summer drinking with salads and dips

Cune Barrel Fermented Rioja Blanco at £7.86 - gorgeous lush rich white from the Rioja region. Good with rich Spanish-style fish dishes

Domaine Wachau Grüner Veltliner at £7.79 - a good example of Austria’s versatile white wine grape - try with Asian style salads and noodle dishes

Cave de Turckheim Gewurztraminer at £8.39 - exotically scented white to drink with curries, especially a duck curry

You may also find this post useful: My favourite food pairings for viognier

*Although the vintage being offered online is 2012. You’d be better off with the 2013 if you can find it in-store.

Parcel series Cabernet Merlot Reserve 2012

South African reds are on a roll right now but few are better value than this elegant Bordeaux style red from Majestic.

It’s part of the so-called 'parcel series' which, as the name implies, consists of parcels of wine which are released from various unnamed wineries who presumably have wine to flog but don’t particular want it to be known they’re prepared to sell it at the price. A bit like lastminute.com’s Top Secret hotels.

The only clue on Majestic’s website is that it’s “a well-known, multi-award-winning organically farmed estate in South Africa. Hand-harvested, fermented in traditional open tanks, and matured for 18 months in French and American oak.” I could have a guess but wouldn’t be fair to let on.

Whatever. It’s a lovely wine - smooth, ripe and generous without being at all jammy. One that would make any Bordeaux-lover very happy, especially on the current ‘buy two bottles save 33% deal’ which brings it down to a very attractive £6.66. Perfect for a roast leg of lamb.

(If you’re looking for a white to make up your six bottles try the As Caixas Godello 2012 - a crisp citrussy white that tastes a bit like a cross between a sauvignon blanc and an albarino. On the same promotion at £6.66 and an ideal seafood wine.)

Collefrisio Falanghina 2012, Terre di Chieti

Not that many people get past pinot grigio in their exploration of Italian whites but Falanghina (pronounced fal-an-ghee-na) is certainly one you should try.

It’s a grape variety that originally comes from Campania in the south of Italy, not somewhere you’d think would make such a fresh-tasting white. According to Jancis Robinson et al’s seminal Wine Grapes (a book I’d urge you to buy if you’re remotely interested in wine) it dates from the late 17th century and is named after the falangae or stakes that support the vines. This one actually comes from the Abruzzo from an organically run estate.

There are cheaper examples in the supermarkets but the Collefrisio, which I tried at my local Bristol wine merchant Davis Bell McCraith this week, has a lovely singing purity that makes it well worth its £13.49 price tag. "It's the kind of wine that makes you want to finish the bottle" as Aiden Bell put it (and by no means all wines do).

I’d want to drink it with simply cooked fish and shellfish - grilled prawns or squid or swordfish for example but it could handle quite punchy flavours such as garlic, capers and parsley.

Cambridge Road Dovetail Martinborough 2011

It’s easy to think you know what to expect with New Zealand wine - immensely drinkable, intense fruit flavours - but this range from Cambridge Road in Martinborough really blew me away

There’s also a pinot noir which you’d expect from Martinborough and a syrah which you perhaps wouldn’t but I was particularly taken with this ‘field blend’, a description that applies to vineyards where a number of grape varieties are grown together - in this case very low-yielding pinot noir and syrah.

In fact it tastes quite cabernet franc-ish to me with its beguiling crunchy wild raspberry and mulberry fruit but it has that characteristic syrah hit of white pepper and the purity and vitality that comes with biodynamic viticulture. It’s unfined and unfiltered and made with minimal sulphur.

I would drink it lightly chilled with simply grilled lamb though it would also pair well with veal or seared fish like tuna and with grilled asparagus as in this asparagus, potato and herb salad

The most exciting wine I’ve tasted from New Zealand for a long time - not cheap, granted, at £34 a bottle (from Les Caves de Pyrène) but world class.

The Smiling Grape Company has the 2010 which I haven’t tasted for £38.69 currently.